


Less Talk about That

by rhincoln



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, rhink, romantic dinners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:43:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5993638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhincoln/pseuds/rhincoln
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhett inadvertently hurts the one he loves, the one he was too stupid to admit he has loved since before college. It’s Valentine’s Day, though, so what better time to make it up to him?</p><p>— inspired by gmm #26; our romantic exploits</p>
            </blockquote>





	Less Talk about That

_2012._

Rhett doesn’t feel like Jessie inviting Cole to this Sunday family dinner was a good idea. Sure, he is family, Rhett’s only brother - if he doesn’t count Link, his  _blood brother_  - and Rhett loves him very much. But no matter how much he may, at times, be fond of Cole, whenever he’s around there’s that nearly palpable tension that stems from the sibling rivalry, always mixed with the fact that Cole is older, more put-together; has a  _“real job”_ , according to their father, and always has a smart-ass comment ready for everything Rhett says or does. He goes about vocalising the comments tastefully, or seemingly so to those who can’t read him and see his shit-eating smirks as simple smiles, but Rhett sees right through him. Becoming a pastor has not dulled down Cole’s propensity for teasing his brother.

And it’s no wonder to Rhett that when, to a table of three couples, Rhett’s mother presents a question, Cole is the first that quips up to answer.

“So, what is everyone doing for Valentine’s day?” she asks in a sweet voice, looking around the table.

Rhett plays with the peas on his plate, much like a petulant child would, not bothering to listen to Cole  _droning on_  about a restaurant he found that’s  _just the right shade of romantic, while also being family and kids friendly, because the highest form of love is love for one’s family, and that is why he is so excited to share yet another holiday with his family, and to spend this evening in such good company;_ which makes him seem like a bigger saint than Valentine himself.  _And maybe he is, alright?_  And maybe that bothers Rhett a little. 

Their mother wears a face-splitting smile through Cole’s monologue, and if those are tears of pride in her eyes, Rhett doesn’t want to see them.

But just as he  _didn’t_  listen to Cole’s speech, he  _doesn’t_  search his mother’s face for pride, because what good would that bring him?

Looking over the table, he notices that even Link is entranced by Cole’s words, and is nodding along solemnly. Rhett’s face scrunches up in a grimace.  _Even you, brother?_ he thinks to himself, looking at Link freaking  _smile_  at Cole. What’s up with that?

Lost in his thoughts, he barely notices when his mother gives Cole one final smile and turns to the rest of the table, her lips pursed as she asks, “And what about our Californians?”

The other three people his mother has addressed remain silent, so Rhett takes it upon himself to give an answer, no matter how feeble. He piles another scoop or two of mashed potatoes onto his plate before speaking.

“Eh, we haven’t thought about it much, I guess… Link?” Rhett raises a challenging eyebrow, looking at the man sitting opposite him, and,  _of course,_ his wife… “Christy?”

Link opens his mouth a little as if to speak, but his wife beats him to it: “For Valentine’s day? Hmm. I guess we haven’t thought about it, really. And it’s a Tuesday, ugh. I know I’ll feel too lazy to get dressed up and all of that, so honey,” she turns to face Link, “Don’t plan anything.”

Everyone at the table laughs, Link hiding his face a little, and Rhett has to give it to her. He smiles a little as well.

“I guess it’s good you aren’t doing anything,” Rhett looks straight at Link as he speaks, and the other man meets his gaze curiously. “I was going to suggest a double date,” Rhett says, smirking, and gets to witness Link avert his eyes. Then Link brings his eyes back up to meet Rhett’s for a moment and Rhett finds his face heating up, which unnerves him, but not enough for him to break the eye contact.

“I’d be up for that,” Jessie adds, and in his peripheral vision Rhett can see her nod her head, “Because, honey, not to mess with you, but we haven’t done anything special in years.”

Scattered laughter ensues, and Rhett hears Link snickering, so he shoots him a look that shuts him up, though Link has to bite his lower lip to stop laughing.

Rhett thinks he must look pretty amused by his wife’s statement as well, because he can’t hide the fact that he’s not really upset by the comment. It’s true. He gives her a grin which she returns. It hasn’t been special, but he feels like it’s been pretty good. And they have had some amazing times…

“No, we have! Only you expect greater things because I set the bar so high so early on. We were actually talking about it for an episode recently, the greatest Valentine’s we’ve ever had, things we’ve done. How smooth we are-”

_“… Were?”_  comes a remark from Cole’s side of the table, but it’s a voice more feminine than Cole’s - oh, Rhett thinks, so it seems like he’s got his wife to do some of the dirty work for him. Rhett still laughs, and nods, even if he is a little embarrassed. He thinks that Link’s expression will match his, but when he glances over at Link, he notices he’s looking oddly thoughtful.

“Yes, alright,  _were. Used to be,”_ Rhett says amusedly, watching his wife smirk at Cole’s, and then pauses a little as if to remember a way to continue his original thought, “Now, you will all be able to see it this in a video we’ll post on Tuesday, but since I know none of you will watch it-”

It prompts more laughter around the table, and Rhett instinctively turns to look at Link - who looks kind of ill at ease. He’s giving Christy, who is laughing loudly, a smile that’s clearly forced, and it pulls Rhett’s brow down into a confused frown. The frown dissipates when his wife speaks next to him.

“Well, not  _none_  of us - I’m sure  _Link_  will watch it…” Jessie teases, and it manages to put a genuine smile on Link’s face, but only for a moment - the smile falls away quickly, and Link takes a sip from his glass as if to hide it.

Link shakes his head a little, a feigned, fondly disapproving smile on his lips, and Jessie raises her brows, asking: “No? Not even you?”

Link’s the only one who doesn’t huff out even a small a laugh at a joke he helped set up, and Rhett would be getting worried - too much dinner on Link’s easy-to-upset stomach, perhaps - were Link sitting anything like he would if his stomach was upset.  _This is something else._

Rhett keeps talking, “So, uh, I was just talking about the time there was that Valentine’s day banquet in Fuquay… Remember?” he turns to look at his wife, who is looking at him confusedly, although she is giving him a small, encouraging smile. “That is where we met,” he announces to the table, and Jessie makes a face as if to say  _“Oh yeah, that’s right,”_  like she’s completely forgotten about it. Rhett shakes his head a little, looking at her. Seems like he has to jog her memory. “I was twenty-one at the time and I was an idiot,” he says, and he catches a glimpse of Cole as he grins a little at the statement, which makes Rhett narrow his eyes, “And the first banquet was horrible, but I think I fixed it the year after. With a little bit of slow dancing to Lionel Richie and  _a feeling down deep in my soul that I just can’t hide,”_  he says with a smile, looking at Link again. He notices Link looking down at his hands in his lap, his posture tense and almost sullen. 

Link looks up at him for a brief moment. “Yeah, yeah. It’s  _lose,_  brother,” Link says, smiling in that odd way again, where the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’s because of this that Rhett can’t take the frown off his face, even if he is recounting one of his fondest memories.

Rhett tries to go on talking, looking around the table, trying to include everyone in his storytelling, “So, yeah, uh, mom, you remember this,” his eyes settle on his mother for a moment, but then he’s looking at Link, who doesn’t look at him again, “Remember when you helped me arrange that dinner the year after?”

“Oh, yes, that was very sweet,” his mother says sincerely, recalling it, but then her face scrunches up in confusion and she looks at Jessie, “That was for you, dear?” 

Link finally looks up at Rhett, and Rhett is, for a moment, taken aback by the sadness in his gaze. 

“Must have been me,” Jessie says with a laugh, which prompts more laughter around the table. 

“It was very, very sweet of Rhett,” Rhett’s mother says proudly, talking to Jessie - and it’s good that she isn’t talking to Rhett because Rhett barely hears it.

His wife makes some sort of noise of affirmation, but Rhett can’t stop looking at his best friend as they talk. Link looks prickly, gloomy, his eyes flicking around the table but not settling on anything, save for his plate, for longer than two seconds. The worst thing is: Rhett thinks he recognizes the expression. And he doesn’t know what he would do if he were correct about his guess on how Link was feeling, wouldn’t know how to fix it. He doesn’t exactly know what he did, but he thinks Link might be  _jealous._ Sure, Link’s post-it notes ordeal doesn’t compare to this, but what is Rhett to do? Link’s stupid for getting jealous. If Rhett were so bold, he’d say it’s his  _own damn fault._

Link could have thought of something just as good, he has no right to be mad or jealous of Rhett for what he did for his wife - in fact, Rhett believes that Link could have thought of something better. And when Christy, in response to Rhett, starts to recount one of the many Valentine’s dinners she and Link have had over the years, the entire table is left in awe of Link’s thoughtfulness and attention to detail, Rhett included. 

_So what’s his problem?_

Link doesn’t smile genuinely through any of it, even if his wife is beaming. Cole keeps looking between Rhett and Link, looking almost ready to say something, and whatever comment he has, Rhett doesn’t want to hear it, so he purposefully doesn’t look at him as he tries to finish his dinner.

Rhett tries to keep Link out of his thoughts till the end of dinner, but the weird feeling keeps nagging at him. He’s not sure if it’s anger or concern for Link, but he feels something, because what he’s witnessing is not typical Link behavior. 

- 

The kids, who have been playing in the living room, safely in sight of most of the table, are getting bored, so immediately after dinner, Link and Christy offer to take them outside to the yard for a bit while the rest of the table finish with any extended-family gossip they might want to relay. 

Rhett follows Link out the room with his eyes, and idly settles into talk of grandmas and cousins, absent-mindedly nodding along to what others are saying. 

When they are finished with dinner, Jessie sends them all to sit in the living room while she cleans up, but nothing can stop Cole’s wife from wanting to help. Their parents linger around the kitchen as well, and Cole easily drags Rhett out into the living room, where they sit side by side on the couch. 

Rhett is taking slow sips of his carbonated water and staring up into space, and he can feel Cole’s eyes on him.

“What?”

“It really is  _lose,_  not _hide,”_  Cole says, cracking a slow smile.

“What?”

“Lionel Richie’s  _Stuck On You,”_  Cole elaborates, “Though you did come home singing  _Endless Love…”_

Before Rhett can utter a third  _“What?”,_  his wife emerges from the kitchen to pick up the plates still half filled with snacks and plastic glasses, all left from the kids. Shooting them both quick smiles, she piles the plates onto one another and the glasses into one another. She stands with the dishes in her hands, seemingly hesitating a little before putting all of it in a corner of the small table so she can sit down at the edge of it, in front of Cole and Rhett.

“So, uh, who was the girl?” Jessie asks, giving Cole a quick look and looking as if she’s trying hard not to smirk. 

Rhett finally utters that third “What?”

“The girl you took to the Valentine’s Day banquet?”

Rhett looks at her confusedly, so she immediately goes on to elaborate, looking between him and Cole in incredulous amusement. “Rhett, honey… We did see each other there, or, uh, I saw you, but I didn’t really talk to you. This was when I was seventeen, not eighteen… And I wasn’t the girl you took to the banquet.”

“What? Of course it was you!”

Beside him, Cole is shaking his head, but not too disapprovingly - both him and Jessie are looking like they’re about to burst out laughing.

Jessie shakes her head a little as well and bites her lip to stop from laughing, “Think really hard. It wasn’t me, I’m positive. I remember being at the banquet, though, and I can’t remember you being with any girl, I only saw you, and well, Link-”

Cole is now full on snickering, and he puts his hand over his mouth and starts apologizing profusely, still through what sounds like giggles. He clears his throat a little to compose himself and then turns to Rhett, putting a hand on his shoulder. “It wasn’t Jessie, brother.”

Jessie raises an amused eyebrow. “See?”

Rhett looks at them for a moment, thinking of what to say, and then finally, weakly, he says: “… Then who was it?”

Because he had sworn off girls that year. It can’t have been any other girl than Jessie. 

Jessie laughs a little, “I don’t know. And maybe it’s better that I don’t. Clearly you wanted it to be me. I’ll take that.” She stands up before leaning forward to kiss his forehead and smiles at him, “We did have some pretty amazing times together, regardless. I was only teasing earlier.”

Rhett nods a little and forces a smile, but he’s not really  _there,_ still racking his brain in an attempt to figure out whom he actually took to the banquet. 

He barely notices Jessie pick up the dirty dishes and leave, and is only conscious of the fact that they are alone when Cole speaks to him.

“You know you took Link, right?”

Rhett’s frowning before he can even turn his head to look at Cole. “What are you talking about?”

“You took Link to the banquet.  _Banquets,_  or, well, a banquet and a private dinner.”

“No I didn’t?” Rhett says, though strangely, as the memory comes back, he finds that Link fits into it perfectly.

“Yeah… you did,” Cole says slowly, looking at Rhett with almost patronising concern. “Rhett, I remember it like it was yesterday, you coming home singing Lionel Richie, humming it for the next three days, talking about how much you ate and what fun you had… I didn’t know you slow-danced, though. Good for you, bo!” 

Cole, again, sounds as if he’s amused by all of it, and Rhett gives him a long, scrutinizing look, “Cole…”

Cole raises both eyebrows. “You starting to remember?”

He  _is_  starting to remember. “Crap. Link… He went along with everything I said, and when we were filming, he didn’t… Crap. Crap! What am I going to tell him?”

“If only you were that concerned with what you’re gonna tell your wife,” Cole says, and again, there’s that grin, like he thinks all of it is just great fun, but had he seen Link’s eyes earlier - Rhett’s an  _idiot,_ he’s  _such an idiot -_

“I’m an idiot,” Rhett says, his voice pained. 

Cole gives him a supportive, lopsided smile. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”  
  
“What do I  _do?”_ _  
_  
“Maybe start by apologizing.”

_Cole is right,_ Rhett thinks,  _for once._  “You’re right,” Rhett says, and then immediately asks, “Where is he?”

“… I meant to Jessie,” Cole says, his brows furrowed, but his lips still pulled up in a small smile. 

Rhett almost doesn’t hear him, because suddenly he realizes he knows where Link is, and he’s immediately on his feet.

When he walks past the kitchen to get to the back porch door, he finds himself face-to-face with Christy. 

“Oh, Rhett,” she says excitedly, and then seems so deflate a little, looking at him worriedly as he frantically looks over her head, trying and failing to look through the window on the porch door. “Rhett, you okay?” she asks.

He shakes his head a little and feigns a reassuring smile before speaking, “Yeah, yeah, I was just… I need to ask Link something,” he says. “Is he in the back yard?”

“Yeah, he’s bringing the rest of the kids inside,” Christy says, and only then does Rhett notice that around her crowd a group of four or so kids, and he can see more of them when he finally manages to look through the small window on the door. What he can also see is Link, smiling at Locke as he takes him and some of Cole’s kids back inside. And maybe it makes Rhett smile a little as well.

He decides to wait for Link by the door, and Christy lingers not too far away, both turning to Link when he opens the door. 

Link’s smile falls away when he sees Rhett and he pushes his glasses up his nose a little self-consciously.

“Hey, buddy,” Rhett starts softly. 

“Hey,” Link says just as quietly, looking up at him. 

“I was, uh, I’m-” Rhett begins, but falters, unsure of how to broach the subject, not knowing how to even ask Link to talk to him.  _They need to talk? He needs to apologize? He needs to make something right?_

Christy talks over Rhett’s bumbling start of a sentence. “The kids are a bit tired so we might leave soon, sorry it’s so soon after dinner, but we should really be getting back home,” she says apologetically, and Rhett gives her a polite smile.

“Of course,” he says, and then turns to Link to speak to him, but Christy beats him to that as well. 

“Link, honey, can you get my bag from the kitchen? I think I left it on one of the chairs at the counter,” she says, ushering all the kids toward the living room door before walking through it herself. 

Link nods immediately and moves to go into the kitchen, but is stopped by Rhett’s hand around his wrist.

“Link,” Rhett says pleadingly, and Link stops, looking up at him in bewilderment.

“Yeah?”

Rhett lets go of his wrist quickly and looks for something to do with the hand he just touched Link with. He settles on scratching the back of his own head, looking for a way to begin saying all the has to say. “I - I’m sorry.”

Link looks up at him. “For what?” he says weakly, and it makes Rhett want to roll his eyes, since Link clearly knows.

Link smiles a little, mirthless, and turns to open the kitchen door, but Rhett is quick and moves in between the door and Link, blocking Link’s exit out of the room and the situation.

“You know what,” Rhett says, leaning in, though he’s already standing a little too close to Link.

“No need to apologize, brother,” Link says sourly, “You just used our Valentine’s hang-out to wow your wife, and it worked. I mean, it did always seem like a good idea for a date, I was always surprised at how your mom didn’t think it weird that we returned there to hang out the year after… I mean, I wasn’t gonna say anything about you trying and testing it out on me, don’t worry. Smart of you to have done it. Should have done it myself.”

Rhett stares at him, dumbfounded. Does Link think Rhett just copied the Valentine’s they spent together to use it on his wife?

“That’s not what I-” Rhett starts, but Link’s already pushing beside him to enter the kitchen, a move allowed by Rhett’s short moment of confusion.

 _It’s not what Rhett did at all._  Maybe it would be a more rational, less ridiculous explanation - that he didn’t value his time with Link and re-used their special moments to impress a girl - than the fact that he simply mixed his wife and his best friend up. But Rhett doesn’t think of letting Link believe the  _rational_ for a moment, because that option is also way more cruel to Link.

In the kitchen and in the living room it’s the usual chatter and laughter, and Link still seems sad, not taking his eyes off his hands, which are in his lap. Rhett doesn’t take his eyes off Link, except when he feels Cole’s curious gaze on himself, at which point he turns around to meet that know-it-all expression and the smart-ass smile to narrow his eyes at it. 

Link is constantly surrounded by people, and Rhett doesn’t get a chance to speak to him, all up until Link and his family are in the hallway, ready to leave.

“We need to talk,” he says shortly, while their wives are talking about when they can see each other next,  _maybe even Valentine’s,_ and Link just continues putting his jacket on.

“What about?” he asks after a while, trying to seem disinterested, but Rhett can still see that sadness in his eyes. 

Rhett doesn’t get the chance to think up an answer, because soon Jessie is pulling Link into a hug, saying her goodbyes, and Christy is opening the front door, waving at Rhett as they all slowly head out. Link raises his hand in a silent good-bye and Rhett mirrors it, standing by the door even if all he really wants to do is run after Link.

Before closing the door, Rhett lets his eyes follow Link to the car, and Link doesn’t turn around once.

After Link is gone, Rhett turns to head into the kitchen and meets his wife in the doorway. She grins at him, leading him back into the room to hang out with his family. 

As soon as he’s able to, he takes Cole by the sleeve and practically pulls him by it, dragging him out onto the back porch. 

Once they are out, he doesn’t waste time in asking: “Fine, how do I fix things with Jessie?

Cole takes a moment to contemplate it before speaking, "Well, Valentine’s is in two days, I can give you the phone numbers of everyone in Fuquay you’ll probably need to call to get things set up. Might take some work, but why not amend this with another date there? Cancel the  _double date._  Call her up on a date like you would have then.”

-

Rhett starts working immediately - Sunday evening - but it takes him almost the entire Monday to get it all set up. He arranges everything - the food, the flowers, the  _Lionel_ \- does everything Cole advised him to. 

And then he calls Link up.

-

The phone rings at a quarter to midnight. Link is in bed, barely asleep, eyelids heavy, half-veiling his tired eyes. 

In an attempt to obtain his glasses, he nearly knocks his glass of water over, tipping it a little so a bit of water spills down the side of the glass and along the top of the nightstand. 

  
The phone’s still there,  _somewhere_ , though, still relentlessly ringing. Christy rolls over onto her back, groaning, and pulls the covers further up to her chin. “What time is it?” she mumbles, opening her eyes to look up at Link.  
  
“Around midnight, I think…?”  
  
“Who could it be at this hour?” 

Link shakes his head, still idly feeling around the nightstand for his glasses. Once he locates them and hastily puts them on, he sits up, leaning back on his elbows, and looks for the light switch next. Once his night lamp is on, he realizes why he couldn’t see his lit-up, buzzing,  _loud_ cell phone; it had fallen to the floor. 

He bends over to pick it up, pushing his glasses up his nose. He can see it clearly, but he’ still squinting at the contact name that’s written boldly across the screen.  _Rhett._

Panic sets in first, because it’s an odd time for him to be calling, but Link doesn’t get to worry for long, because when he picks up he is met with Rhett’s cheerful voice. 

“Hello?” Link says. 

_“Hey!”_

“Oh. Hey,” Link says softly, looking over his shoulder at Christy before turning back around, “Why are you calling? Are you okay?”

_“Uh, yeah, sorry, didn’t realise it was this late.”_ Rhett sounds nervous.  _“It’s nothing, I… I was just wondering if you were doing anything tomorrow.”_

“Not really, no,” Link says quietly, and he can hear Christy stirring beside him.  
  
“Who is it, sweetie?” she asks, “Is that Rhett?”

Link turns around briefly to nod his head, and then does a double take and quickly decides tell Rhett to “hold on”, before speaking to Christy: “Go back to sleep, I’ll just take this outside.”  
  
“Is everything alright?” she asks, and Link quickly reassures her with a nod and a smile before climbing out of the bed and making his way to the living room. On his short walk there, he doesn’t let himself think of another time Rhett called him up minutes before midnight to ask him if he had any plans for Valentine’s Day. 

“Hey,” he says again, once he’s walked past his kids’ rooms. 

_“Oh, hey,”_ Rhett echoes it,  _“So..?”_ _  
__  
_ “So, no,” Link says simply, “We were gonna stay in, have dinner, I’d have helped with more of the chores, y’know…”  
_  
__“Yeah, yeah, well,”_ Rhett says quickly, sounding excited,  _“I’ve booked Christy a spa day.”_  
  
Link stops in his tracks just at the door to the living room. “You… booked a spa day for my wife?”

_“Yeah!”_  Rhett says, sounding very pleased with himself.

“You mean for me and my wife, right… or?” 

Rhett’s silent for a moment on the other end, and then he snickers before speaking again,  _“No, Link. Me and your wife.”_  
  
“Rhett…”  
  
Rhett laughs for a bit before replying, and Link takes the time that Rhett spends enjoying his own joke to walk over to the couch and take a seat.

_“Your wife and my wife, brother.”_

Link shakes his head. “Yeah, and are we not coming along?” 

_“No, no,”_  Rhett says,  _“We need to go back to North Carolina.”_  
  
Link tenses up, his breath catching in his throat.  _Rhett doesn’t mean-_

“You… You mean Fuquay?” Link can barely bring himself to ask. He feels breathless.  _Fuquay on Valentine’s Day-_

_“Yes,”_  Rhett says casually from the other end,  _“Listen, you know Mildred, Mildred who worked at the Habsburger?”_

Even if his heart is in his throat, Link tries for casual as well. “Uh, yeah,” he cracks a smile which he knows Rhett will be able to hear in his voice, “Habsburger, the worst hamburger place in town.”

Rhett laughs again, and the sound makes Link’s heart flutter. _“Yeah, well, Mildred sent me an e-mail this morning saying that she wanted us to “do one of our commercials” for her,”_  he mimicks the woman’s southern drawl, making Link laugh. 

“Oh… You did say yes?” Link asks, and his heart sinks a little, even if scoring a commercial deal for a place they’d always wanted to film for is definitely a good thing, he can’t deny it wasn’t what would have made him happiest. 

_“‘Course, brother! Booked us plane tickets and everything,”_  Rhett pauses for a moment, and then chuckles to, or maybe _at,_  himself,  _“Which was definitely not overeager, but, you know… You do wanna go?”_  He sounds a bit nervous when he asks it, and follows it up with a quick bout of persuasion:  _“We can finally use all the ideas we had for it. It’s the only place we ever wanted to film for that didn’t want us to, remember? And I don’t know what’s changed old Mildred’s mind, but, you know, it’ll be fun to finally-”_ _  
_  
“Rhett,” Link is quick to stop him rambling, giddy as he speaks, “I know. I can’t believe you finally scored a deal with them, man!”   
  
Fuquay-Varina with Rhett mightn’t be what it had once been, there may not be any dining or slow-dancing involved, but Link’ll be back there, with only his best friend, on Valentine’s Day. And he thinks he might as well enjoy it.  
  
Link heaves a long, content sigh before speaking again: “The Habsburger: The place that could feed all sixteen of Maria Theresa’s royal children in under half an hour had it existed back in the eighteenth century,” he muses.

The other end of the line is silent for a bit, and then Rhett speaks, and Link can hear that he’s smiling,  _“You remember my idea.”_  
  
Link grins, settling down in a lying position on the couch, “Of course, Rhett,” he says softly, grinning up at the ceiling.

Rhett clears his throat, _“Yeah, so, uh, it doesn’t really matter now. The burger joint, I mean,”_  he says quickly, _“I, uh, my parents are still staying with us so they can take care of the kids for the day or two that we’ll be there… Oh, our flight’s at noon, by the way. I was thinking I could pick you up at like, ten tomorrow? I’ll bring all the equipment and all of that. ”_  
  
Link smiles, “Yeah, sure. You really thought of everything, didn’t you?”  
  
The other end of the line is silent for another moment.  _“You could say that,”_  Rhett’s voice is quiet, almost bashful,  _“Good luck packing, Link.”_  
  
Link laughs, “I’ll need it. You need to stop calling so late.”  
  
_“What do you mean? Haven’t really made a habit of calling late.”_  
  
Link tenses up for a moment, “Uh, no, you haven’t. Sorry, I…” he trails off. “Good night, Rhett.”  
  
_“Good night, Link.”_  
  
When he hangs up, Link thinks he might be fully content falling asleep there, on the couch, clutching the phone and thinking terribly soppy thoughts. 

-

Jessie and Christy are equally as overjoyed at the news of a change in Valentine’s Day plans, and do not mind being suddenly prevented by their respective husbands’ work from spending the day with them, not in the least. They know how it gets.

Link has spent half the night packing and the other half, this unbeknownst to his wife, squirming in bed with dizzying anticipation. In the morning, he fixes himself up and dresses himself with shaking hands, skips breakfast altogether - not deliberately, of course, and once he’s in Rhett’s car he’s already regretting not having eaten, craving the sweet and familiar taste of frosted mini-wheats in the morning. 

But it’s not too bad. Rhett must have eaten something, must have slept well too, because he looks fresh and spirited. He looks  _good._

Their shared excitement is almost tangible in the air between them. Rhett’s enthusiastic talk puts Link in a far better mood than someone who’s not slept or eaten should be in. 

On the plane, Link is out like a light as soon he’s sat in his window seat. 

When the stewardesses are bringing out the food, he nearly sleeps through it, only he doesn’t, because Rhett is there to wake him up.  
  
“Hey, buddy,” Rhett whispers, nudging his shoulder a little to wake him.  
  
Link opens his eyes to be met with the sight of Rhett’s own, crinkled atop a small smile. Link squints a little before yawning. Shaking his head, he looks in front of him, where his tray has been lowered, various airplane food placed on top of it along with his glasses, which he hurries to put on.  
  
“You, ah,” Link begins, cheeks reddening, and fails to go on.  
  
Rhett just smiles more brightly. “You seemed a little hungry on the drive here, and it’s been like four hours since. So, I, uh…”  
  
“Thanks, Rhett,” Link says, in awe of his friend’s thoughtfulness. “Yeah, I was, I mean, I am… Thank you.”  
  
Rhett’s still smiling, and he averts his eyes when Link looks over at him. When, after a few moments, he feels Link’s gaze slide back over to the food, he chances another look at him. “Dig in, brother.”  
  


-

  
The rest of the plane ride passes with Link passed out on Rhett’s shoulder, murmuring quiet nonsensical things at times. Rhett can barely stop himself from bursting out laughing when Link nuzzles his shoulder and whispers in a low, dazed voice, “Let me pick you up with my leg hands…” 

He laughs quietly to himself and leans his head on Link’s, closing his eyes to spend the rest of the flight in an odd but pleasing half-dream state.

-

The drive to Fuquay is mostly quiet but pleasant.   
  
It’s when they’re in Fuquay, and Rhett’s navigating the streets by heart, that Link speaks up:   
  
“Do they have a new location or something?” he asks, and the  _“or did you get lost?”_  is unspoken, but heard.  
  
“Uhh, you could say that,” Rhett dismisses him quickly, turning his eyes back to the road to study the road signs with newfound interest. 

“Rhett, uh,” Link begins carefully, sitting up straighter in his seat, looking around the small two-seater Rhett has rented. “Shouldn’t we have planned some more for the commercial? I mean…”

“No, it’ll be fine. I, uh, I’ve got a plan,” Rhett says impatiently, “Besides, we’re almost there.”  
  
“Oh. Okay,” Link says, deflating a little, slumping back in his seat.

“Really,” Rhett says, and his voice sounds a bit odd, “Don’t worry.”

The next fifteen minutes are painstakingly awkward, and Link spends them staring out the window, watching the scenery whizz by, not taking particular note of any landmarks that might let him know where they are.   
  
When they pull up in front of a large building, Link doesn’t trust himself to accurately identify it. Because it _can’t_  be. Because it’s the hall. The banquet hall - the  _Endless Love_ banquet hall. 

He turns to look at Rhett, who is staring down at the steering wheel, hands still gripping it tightly. Rhett exhales slowly, releasing his nervous grip on the wheel before he turns around to open the door, and then gets out of the car.

Link scrambles to undo his seatbelt before climbing out the car, nearly tripping over himself. Rhett stands on the other side of the car, face flushed, grinning. While Link was struggling with his seatbelt, Rhett must’ve made a quick trip to the back of the car and pulled his backpack out of it, because it’s now slung over his shoulder.   
  
“C’mon,” he says to Link, and Link feels as if he’s about to cry.   
  


Rhett tries the doorknob only to find that the door is locked. He checks his phone for the time and walks over to one of the bigger flower pots that sit under one of the windows. He considers it for a bit before reaching down to lift it up and reveal a key underneath. Rhett makes quick work of unlocking the door, and Link follows him inside the building with just the wildest smile on his face.   
  
Rhett walks beside him, talking casually, although his voice is a bit strained still, as if he’s nervous, or shy, about what he’s saying. “I thought it was time we did something like this again. Just the two of us, you know.”  
  
Link is staring up at him, but when Rhett turns to meet his eyes, Link gulps and barely manages a simple nod.   
  
Rhett smiles nonetheless and leads him over to the end of a long table, where only two plates sit, all the other seats in the hall left deliberately vacant. The plates are side by side, a few dishes, pots, bottles, jars and all the needed utensils sat in front of them. Link walks toward it carefully, with Rhett lagging a bit behind him. 

Link pauses in front of the table and turns to face Rhett, mouth agape. Rhett smiles at him and pulls his phone out of his pocket, putting on Lionel Richie’s  _Do It To Me_  before walking toward Link, brushing against his shoulder as he walks past him to place his phone on the table.   
  
“Have a seat,” Rhett offers, and carefully, Link scoots into the spot farther from the end of the bench.   
  
Still speechless, Link just keeps looking up at Rhett as the other man sits down next to him.  
  
Rhett leans forward to pluck a pink post-it note off the lid of one of the pots, and when he brings it closer to read it, Link can just make out some what it says before Rhett’s folding it up into his pocket:

_We had to leave at six, hope the food’s still hot when you arrive! Good luck, Rhett,_

Rhett smiles and looks over at the pots before pressing his hand to the bigger one. “The food’s still warm. I, uh,” he looks over the array in front of him nervously, “Hope you still like pot roast and mashed potatoes.”   
  
Link smiles. “I do,” he clears his throat before mumbling, “And Lionel…”  
  


Rhett laughs a little, and some of the tension is dissolved. “Yeah, Lionel too. Uh,” he takes the lid off one of the dishes, “Whenever you’re ready, dig in.”  
  
“Yeah, I-”  
  
“Oh, wait!” Rhett says suddenly, and reaches down beside his seat and into his backpack, out of which he pulls a small candle. He places it at a safe distance from their plates, but still keeps it pretty close, before reaching back into his backpack for a lighter. 

“There,” he says when he’s lit it, and Link’s afraid that the smile he’s wearing will split his face in half. 

The candle emits a balmy, rosy scent, aiding the rest of the surroundings to better remind them of the first time they were there alone.   
  


“I never took Jessie here, you know,” Rhett says, making Link’s eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I just, uh. I mixed the two of you up. Somehow I got it into my head that it was me and her here, but now I know. Can’t have been anyone but you.”  
  
“Oh.”

  
Link looks at Rhett for a bit, this ridiculous, forgetful man, wondering what he ever did to deserve him as a friend. When he speaks, it’s quiet and flustered but Link’s determined in letting Rhett know that: “This is incredible.”  
  
“Yeah?” Rhett asks, blushing a little. “Are you surprised?”  
  
“I shouldn’t be,” Link says, “You’re always incredible.” He laughs. “But yeah, I’m surprised. Thank you.”  
  
Rhett grins and scoots up an inch closer to him. “No problem. Happy Valentine’s Day, I guess.” 

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you too,” Link says, and they both turn to look at the food. Rhett’s not eaten much on the plane, and Link has found that even if your best friend insists you take some of his airplane meal after having wolfed your own down, you still won’t be exactly full. So they begin to rifle through the food, the roast and the mash and the vegetable casseroles, both ignoring the water and the Sprite to pour champagne into the two plastic glasses. The overhead lights are not all switched on and the hall is dim, February being one of those months where it’s already fully dark at seven in the evening. Rhett’s face looks beautiful in the flickering light provided by the small candle in front of them. Link can’t look away, and no matter how hungry he is, he takes eating slowly and scoops the food up into his mouth unseeingly, having fixed his gaze on Rhett’s shining eyes, the slope of his nose, his lips, the way the candlelight catches in his beard.

Unthinkingly, Link speaks. “How could you mix the love of your life up with me?”

The question comes out so softly and nervously, sounding almost like a whimper.

Rhett puts his utensils down on his plate and turns to Link, but doesn’t look at his face, keeping his eyes fixed on a point somewhere around Link’s collarbones. “I don’t know,” he says, even if he wants to say something else. ”I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t value our friendship and time together enough to remember. I just… I messed up. I’m sorry.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Link says softly, and turns back to his plate, looking down at it but not picking his fork up to eat. “The last time we did this, though,” he starts quietly, “We didn’t have anyone… Didn’t have dates. So I thought we just… I mean, we both have someone now…” his voice quivers a bit at the end, and he stops talking.  
  
Rhett nods. “I know, but… Sometimes I just wanna spend time with my best… You.”  
  
Link smirks, looking up at him. “Your best me?”  
  
“Yeah,” Rhett says, grinning. “Shut up,” he mumbles, making Link laugh.

It’s quiet for a bit, and then Rhett takes a breath before speaking. “Let’s spend every Valentine’s Day together,” he blurts out.  
  
Link whips around to look at him, his heart in his throat. Taking in Rhett’s almost timid smile, the soft crease to his brow and his hands nervously clasped around his fork, Link knows he heard right, even if he can’t believe it.

“Okay,” he says once he’s got his wits about him, and Rhett opens his mouth to speak again.  
  
“I mean, I’d rather spend it with you, we have more fun than anyone else, and it’s just a day in the year-”  
  
“Okay,” Link repeats, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  
  
“Yeah?” Rhett asks, sounding breathless.  
  
“Yeah,” Link says, and looks back down to hide the ridiculous smile on his face.  
  
It’s quiet for a bit, save for the steady flow of music, as they both try to eat some more. Link’s cheeks burn and every few seconds he can feel Rhett’s gaze on himself, but he doesn’t turn around to face him, because there’s no telling what he’d do or say if he did. 

He does feel the need to break the silence, though, even if the start of his question is directed at his plate. “So the Habsburger doesn’t want us?”  
  
Rhett laughs, shaking his head. “No, uh, I don’t think Mildred will ever cave. Sorry to disappoint.”  
  
Link smiles, finally looking up at Rhett. “I’m anything but disappointed.”  
  
The shared eye contact seems to make them both shy, and they quickly revert back to trying to enjoy their meals. While Link manages to have a few bites, Rhett doesn’t even try, and spends the time fumbling with his phone. When he’s done, Link can hear the familiar intro to Lionel Richie’s  _Endless Love_ ; and then Rhett’s nudging his shoulder, prompting him to look at him.  
  
When Link does, he notices that Rhett’s keeping his hand open between them, as if offering it to him.  
  
“You wanna dance?” Rhett asks, and his face falls when he notices his blunder, “I mean, if you’re eating, when you’re finished-”  
  
Link places his hand in Rhett’s, effectively shutting him up, and squeezes gently. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but it feels right.   
  
“Sure,” he says, making Rhett’s eyes widen.  
  
Rhett stands up almost too quickly, his hand slipping out of Link’s as he walks away from the table and onto the open plane of the tiled floor. 

When Link joins him, they stand about a feet apart, both gently swaying to the music.

It’s not long before Link reaches out a hand and reaches inside the pocket of Rhett’s button-up shirt to pull out the post-it that’d been stuck onto one of the pots. The entire thing reads:

_We had to leave at six, hope the food’s still hot when you arrive! Good luck, Rhett, hope your sweetheart likes it!_

_P.S. Joe will be back to clean up a little before midnight, just leave the key outside if you leave before then!_ _  
_ _P.P.S. Says to tell you he’s looking forward to any leftovers, but pay this no mind if you’re hungry, which I am sure you must be…_

“Sweetheart,” Link mutters as an afterthought, a wistful smile on his lips, “They seemed to think you’d be bringing her.”  
  
Rhett shakes his head, looking at Link as he messily folds the paper up. “No,” Rhett says, “They knew I’d be bringing you.”  
  
Link looks up at him, speechless once more. Lionel is relentless in his constant ability to succeed in making the ambience of the dimmed room feel even more intimate. Link puts the post-it in his own pocket.

He doesn’t say anything else, and he feels like he won’t be able to for a while, because when Rhett takes a step closer to him, for a moment he can’t remember how to breathe.  
  
Rhett, in all honesty, has no idea what to do. There are things he wants to do, but it might cross the threshold of him being nice to his friend and stray into something more. He’s not sure if he wants that, but only if he  _thinks_  about it. 

So he doesn’t think.

He brings his shaky hands up and puts them on Link’s waist, and he can feel Link tense up under his touch, but before he can think of removing his hands, he feels him relax.   
  
They sway to the music together, and Link slowly brings his own hands up and around Rhett’s shoulders. They lean in closer, settling into a hug easily, and start to move together. 

_It’s easier; the classic sort of dancing would demand them to determine who leads, which would put one of them in the position of the woman and might bring romantic undertones to the situation-_

As he thinks about this, Rhett pulls Link closer and leans down to press his nose against Link’s temple.  
  
He whispers another apology and gets to enjoy Link tightening his hold on him when he quietly responds: “It’s fine. It’s perfect.”

Rhett’s burning to say something more, but he can’t seem to find the courage to.

When he feels the fingers of one of Link’s hands in his napes, caressing the back of his neck, it encourages him to speak. “I guess it’s easy to mix up the one you love with the one you’re supposed to love.”

Link daren’t hope that this means what he thinks it means. “What?” he asks softly, pulling away a little, running one of his hands down the front of Rhett’s shirt to put some distance between them as he looks up at him. The hand just makes it to Rhett’s pec when it’s trapped between them, because Rhett is pulling him closer, making Link elicit a soft gasp. Rhett’s eyes nervously flick down to Link’s lips before he closes them and leans down to press their lips together. 

Link gives himself a second to be surprised, but soon he’s running his other hand down Rhett’s jaw, placing it on his cheek as he presses up to kiss him back. 

They stay that way as the song ends in the background, and break apart for air just as another one begins. 

Rhett looks down at Link with wide, sparkling eyes, his mouth open as if he’s about to say something. Link stands on his tiptoes and presses his face up again, kissing Rhett hard, effectively erasing any thought that doesn’t concern Link from his mind. 

The kiss seems to make Link light-headed as well, and his unsteady, tiptoe stance almost makes him fall forward into Rhett’s chest. When Link comes down to steady himself on the soles of his feet, Rhett leans down to follow Link’s lips with his own, pressing small kisses all the way down to the underside of Link’s jaw, keeping his strong arms around him to help him feel steadier. 

Rhett soon reveals that the thing he’d been about to say when Link interrupted him with a kiss was one that had to do with Link, because, really, how could it not - when Link’s all he can think about, especially now. 

“Do you want to go sit with me?” Rhett asks, and Link takes a second to push his glasses up his nose before nodding his head, a stupid smile on his face.

He takes Rhett’s hands in his own and starts walking backwards toward the table and the bench, pulling Rhett along with him. When they sit down - facing away from the table, side by side, legs pressed up along the entire length - Rhett tentatively puts his arm around Link, and Link leans into his chest, taking a deep breath. 

Rhett kisses the top of his head before speaking, “If I only had the courage to do this back then, I would never have mixed it up,” Rhett says, pulling Link closer. “Kissing Jessie sometimes felt almost like looking at you. Kissing you is…”  
  
Link nods, “I know. Let’s not… Can we not talk about her?” he asks gingerly, a part of him expecting Rhett to dismiss the request as ridiculous, but all Rhett does is nod in affirmation.

Link leans up to kiss him, reaching for Rhett’s other hand to take it into his own and entwine their fingers. Link parts his lips a little and deepens the kiss, revelling in the feeling of Rhett noticing and doing the same. They kiss for a little longer before Link breaks the kiss to look up at Rhett and speak to him in a breathless whisper: “Do we sleep in the car…? Cause I was thinking, we could get a room, in a hotel, or something…” The sweeping feeling in Link’s stomach only intensifies when he sees Rhett grin at the question.

“Oh, no,” Rhett says, and Link’s stomach coils up in dreadful embarrassment. Rhett must see something in his face, because he’s quick to elaborate, “We’ll stay in my parents’ house. They gave me a spare key.”

“Oh, okay,” Link says softly, smiling in relief as he leans into Rhett’s chest again. He’s afraid he’d seem overeager if he asked, but feels like he must - the way Rhett looks, smells, how he almost seems to shiver when Link puts his hand on his thigh - “What’s the time?”  
  
Rhett scrambles for the phone and pauses the music in his attempt to do the simple task of checking the time. “Just past ten,” he informs Link in a strained voice, and Link nods.   
It looks as if it will move fast, and it will, because that’s the way it’s meant to go after so many years of waiting, almost knowing what the other is thinking, what the other  _wants._ When more and more of their secret-yet-shared desires are being unveiled, it’s only natural for things to move along in a certain, long-awaited direction. It’s almost entirely clear that Rhett has something similar to what Link’s thinking on his mind. _  
_  
“Do you wanna head home? I’m kinda-” Link doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before Rhett’s standing up, pulling him up with him, “- tired.”

Link laughs, and Rhett bites his lip, face heating up. “C’mon, man. Let’s go.”  
  
“You sure you don’t want any more food?”  
  
Rhett pulls him closer and kisses his neck, mumbling into it. “Let’s leave the man some leftovers, c’mon.” He reaches down to pick his backpack up off the floor and slings it over his free shoulder, his other arm still around Link. 

After Link nods and kisses him as a way of agreeing, they hurry to the car in companionable silence, both wearing exhilarated smiles on their faces. Rhett closes and locks the place up before leaving the key where he found it, and they pile into the car, putting on the jackets they left in it once they are inside. Once Rhett has put his jacket on, Link uses the lapels of it to pull him into another fervent kiss. Rhett has to take an extra second to remember all the ministrations of starting a car after it.  
  
As Rhett drives toward his childhood home, Link messes about with the radio, shivering and huddling into his jacket for warmth.  
  
“Hey,” Link calls, and Rhett perks up, making him go on, “What are we gonna do about the commercial? What did you tell everyone?”  
  
“Oh,” Rhett chuckles, “The Habsburger excuse was just for you, sorry. I just told everyone we had work, we were looking for an idea and thought about going back to NC… Cole’s the only one who knows about me renting out the banquet hall, but I don’t think he knows I took you.”  
  
“Ah,” Link says, settling back into his seat. He doesn’t need to think about who Cole might think Rhett took. “I’m really glad to be here,” Link says, thinking out loud.  
  
“Yeah?” Rhett asks, keeping his eyes strictly on the road, “Me too.”

Link grins and looks out his window, and when they drive past a store he is reminded of something. “I’ll be impressed if you planned this far ahead but I think we should stop by the store for some things…” he mumbles, making Rhett grip the steering wheel just a tad tighter.  
  
“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Link says with a smirk, sensing that Rhett knows just what he’s talking about.  
  
The first store they come across is the one Rhett pulls in front of, and after looking round the parking lot for a bit, Link leans in to press a gentle kiss to Rhett’s cheek before disentangling himself from the seatbelt and getting out of the car. 

When Link comes back, a sheepish expression on his face, a plastic bag in his hand, Rhett can’t contain his grin.  
  
“Successful?” he asks simply, though he nearly stutters in his attempt to get the word out.  
  
“Uh, yeah,” Link says, handing the bag to Rhett and diverting all of his attention to his seatbelt as Rhett examines the contents of it.  
  
It’s not much. Two items Rhett definitely shouldn’t get this worked up over. 

“These are big…” Rhett comments, having taken the small box out of the bag.

Link rolls his eyes and bites his lip to keep from smiling, but is unsuccessful. “Yeah. Yes, they are,” he says, looking down at his lap before turning his head to look at Rhett. “I believe in you, I guess.”  
  
“Well,” Rhett says, leaning over into Link’s space, “You’re not wrong…”

When Link gasps, it’s exactly what Rhett needs to hear. He gives the bag back to Link and starts the car, pulling out of the small parking lot with ease and finally driving them home.

-

As they’re taking their jackets and shoes off in the hallway, Rhett can’t stop smiling, but there’s also a regret for lost time that he can’t seem to shake, written all over his face. They’re both quiet about it, though, and even if Rhett looks like he wants to say something he hesitates for some time.  
  
“This is how it should have happened,” he says later, looking at Link once they stand at the foot of the stairs that will lead them up to Rhett’s old room, “All those years ago.”  
  
Link shakes his head, taking Rhett’s hand into his. “You know we wouldn’t have… Not after all we were told about guys being with other guys. I guess we should have just seen ourselves as  _you and me…_ You and me are…” Link sighs. “Thank goodness we came to our senses,” he says with an easy smile, and it’s not hard for Rhett to mirror it.

“Better late than never,” Rhett murmurs, and it’s still a bit sad, but when he wraps his arms around Link and basically scoops him up into a kiss, Link can feel that it’s not just an expression, can feel Rhett’s happiness, his joy at finally being in the moment they had both wanted for so long. 

Link is overtly eager, tugging in equal measure onto Rhett’s shirt and the plastic bag in Rhett’s hand as he kisses him. After indulging both himself and Link in this, Rhett straightens up a little, putting his lips just out of Link’s reach, and Link stands up on his tiptoes and lets out a low whine.  
  
Rhett smiles and gives him a small kiss before leaning back to put some distance between them.  
  
Link’s hands leave Rhett completely and instead go down to tug at the hem of his own henley, but Rhett’s eyes are focused on Link’s own, and he doesn’t take notice, since he’s also thinking about wanting to tease Link. 

Just as Rhett speaks, a sultry, hushed, taunt - “It’s good to take things…” - he has to pause to widen his eyes as he looks at his impatient partner. Link slowly tugs the shirt up and over his head, tousling his hair but keeping his glasses immaculate on his nose as he takes it off.   
  
“…Slowly,” Rhett finishes weakly. 

  
Link opens his palm and the shirt falls to the floor. He reaches for the bag in Rhett’s hand and pulls his own hand through the loop of the thin handle, keeping the bag on his arm so his hands are free to take hold of Rhett’s own. He guides Rhett’s hands down to place them on his bare waist, shivering as the man’s soft hands timidly touch his skin.   
  
Link leans up again, and Rhett is too stunned to even think of moving away, of teasing Link.

Link kisses his neck, smiling as he whispers, “How about you  _slowly_  take me up to your room?”

Rhett embraces him, pulling him closer, leaning down to kiss him even as Link giggles. 

“And then slowly  _take_  me…” Link says through a laugh, and Rhett shakes his head fondly, smiling. 

  
“I get it, I get it,” Rhett says urgently, one hand sliding down to Link’s hip. “C’mon,” he says, nodding toward the staircase, pulling his index finger through one of the loops in Link’s belt. They make their way up the stairs slowly but surely, Link stopping Rhett only once to give him a kiss.   
  
When they’re in the room, Rhett closes the door behind them and flicks the overhead light on. The dimmed, white glow of the energy-saving light bulb illuminates the room far better than any glaring, yellow light of a regular bulb could, Rhett thinks. The light is just feeble enough not to bother them - it’s perfect, because it’s intimate. Were the light not fortunately dimmed, however,  Rhett would still not think of turning it off, of divesting himself of the sight of Link.  
Link, still conveniently shirtless, moves over to the bed, safely depositing the bag - the lube and the condoms - onto the nightstand, just so that they are within reach. 

He takes a shuddering breath as he sits on the bed, smoothing down the front of his trousers inadvertently as he impatiently smoothes his palms up and down his thighs. 

He watches Rhett turn around and walk over to the bed slowly, his eyes on Link the entire time. Once he’s close enough, Rhett leans down to kiss him, and when they break apart, Link scoots back up the bed and lies down, looking up at Rhett. The bed, which Rhett hasn’t slept in since his college days, doesn’t smell of disuse, but rather of flowery laundry detergent, as if Rhett’s mother keeps it in pristine shape, should her son return. The room itself, though clean, has remained intact, and if he were to focus on certain parts of it, Link would undoubtedly find himself, for a moment, transported back to his college days.   
  


But one look at Rhett, and he knows they’re very much not in college anymore. One look at his confident stance, the broad shoulders and chest, the beard and the trail of hair lower on Rhett’s body, revealed to Link when Rhett takes his shirt off; all of it reminds Link of who this man is to him. He’s seen Rhett grow into this beautiful man, watched him for so long, but he’s never seen him like this.  
  
And then Rhett’s leaning down to kiss him, climbing up on the bed and hovering over him, his hands on either side of Link’s head as the kisses and touches grow more tender, yet at the same time, more desperate; and Link can’t believe how lucky he is.  
  
Rhett moves further up to the centre of the bed, in between the legs Link has welcomingly spread apart for him. He reaches out and gently takes Link’s glasses off before placing them on the nightstand carefully.

Link smiles up at him and pulls him in for another kiss. Even without the glasses, though, he can still see that Rhett’s hard, can see the outline of his cock through his jeans. Link’s own crotch is just inches away, and when he thrusts his hips up a little, he can also  _feel_  the outline of Rhett’s dick.  
  
Rhett groans and brings his own hips down to grind against Link, kissing him messily as they both focus on the lower regions of their bodies.  
  
It’s not long until Link’s tugging at Rhett’s belt, unsuccessful in his hasty attempt to unbuckle it. Rhett gives the side of Link’s lips one last kiss before straightening up before him, kneeling in between his legs as he impatiently unbuckles the belt himself. Once it’s done, he leans back down, chest against Link’s as they kiss. Link’s hand travels down Rhett’s front until it finds the button of his jeans, which he easily unbuttons before pulling the zipper down as well. The hand dips under the waistband of Rhett’s now accessible boxers, and Link follows the trail of soft, blond hair until his hand is entirely in Rhett’s pants, and he is able to wrap it around the silky skin of Rhett’s cock.   
  
Having another man’s cock in his hand is a strange, but, Link finds, pleasant sensation. It’s quite possible that he enjoys it as much as he does because the cock in his hand is  _Rhett’s_ , a fact that’s so wonderful it’s hard for him to wrap his mind around it.  
  
The best part of touching Rhett are the sighs and moans the man is letting out, but the _feel of him_ is not at all bad - warm and heavy in Link’s hand. When Link slowly pulls Rhett’s cock out of his pants, the sight of it pressed against Rhett’s belly by the waistband of his boxers as it stands upright  _for Link_ might just be the best thing Link’s seen in a while. All until he chances a look at Rhett’s face, and is mesmerised anew. Link runs his open palm along the entire length of Rhett’s cock before bringing his other hand down to help Rhett ease out of the jeans, as well as boxers, completely, all the while looking at Rhett’s flustered expression: his eyes squeezed shut, lips slightly parted as he lets out soft, stifled moans.  
  
“Link…”   
  
Link leans up to kiss his neck and murmurs bashfully into the skin he has his nose and lips pressed against, “Help with my pants,” he says, though what he really means is that he wants Rhett to undress him.   
  
Rhett nods dazedly, moving away a little, having to suffer the loss of Link’s hands on him. He leans down and nuzzles the side of the apparent  _tent_  to Link’s jeans, his hands moving down Link’s thighs to settle on the fastenings of his jeans. Once he’s unbuttoned them and pulled the fly down, he hooks his fingers straight under the waistband of Link’s briefs and pulls them down. The jeans go along with it easily, and Link groans when his cock springs free of its confines. Rhett pulls both the pants and the undies down completely, with Link lifting his feet up off the bed a little to aid him in it.   
  
Once they are both fully nude, Rhett immediately starts climbing back up Link’s body, but he takes his time doing it, kissing Link all the way from the inside of his thigh to the side of his mouth.  
  
All the while, Link’s trembling underneath him.

“Get the lube,” he instructs in a breathless whisper once Rhett’s kissing his lips, all the while rutting against him. Link is so eager exactly because of this, the feeling of Rhett’s cock pleasantly sliding against his own.

Rhett nods dazedly, kissing Link once more before he raises himself up a little and reaches out for the contents of the bag on the nightstand. He hands the condoms to Link, grinning. “Could you open those?”   
  
Link nods and tries to focus on opening the box, but it’s wrapped in cellophane, and his hands are shaking a little, and Rhett is relentless in wanting to touch him, even when Link should focus on something else for a moment. Maybe especially because Link’s trying to focus on something else.  
  
Even if Rhett is distracting him, Link isn’t about to tell him to stop, isn’t about to try and cease the movements of Rhett’s still dry palm as it caresses the inside of Link’s thighs, straying down and under to his cheeks.  
  
“Rhett…” he groans, but he’s managed to open the box of condoms, and he gets one out of the box for Rhett to take. “Why do we need these anyway? Why did I even-” he mumbles indignantly.   
  
“Less to clean up,” Rhett murmurs. He leans down to kiss Link as he uncaps the bottle of lube, and Link is still grumbling something.  
  
“Do I wear one too?” Link asks, frowning a little, and Rhett smirks at him.  
  
“No,” Rhett says easily, “I’ll take care of your, uh…” He seems too bashful to say it out loud, but Link knows what he means. Link also knows that he’s waited long enough - he puts a hand on one of Rhett’s shoulders to pull himself up a bit as he sits up, before he turns over to lie on his front, leaving an entirely dumbfounded Rhett in his wake.  
  
“C’mon, man…” Link mumbles, almost shy, sticking his ass up a bit as he settles down more comfortably on the bed, making sure his cock is pressed to the white sheets in a more comfortable way. “Make sure there’s something to clean up,” he teases, and a choked-off noise comes from Rhett’s direction. Link wishes he could see Rhett’s face, and the wish is granted to him almost immediately, because Rhett has thoughts of seeing Link’s face as well, so he leans over him, pressing against his back. He leans down and kisses the incline of Link’s neck before tilting his head a little so he can look at him.   
  
“Hey,” Rhett whispers, slowly moving his hips.  
  
Link is about to reply, but he can feel Rhett’s cock in the cleft of his ass, and all he manages is a breathy moan. When Rhett moves a little more insistently, clearly enjoying Link’s reactions, Link has to bite his lip and close his eyes. With his left hand, he searches for Rhett’s own, and Rhett can see it so he runs his hand down Link’s arm before placing it on the back of his palm and entwining their fingers together.

Rhett runs his other hand down Link’s back, pausing at Link’s ass to give it a little squeeze before palming it appreciatively. The sight of Link on his front beneath him is breathtaking, but he can only look for so long, because Link is getting impatient, already thrusting his hips up a little.  
  
“Rhett…” he begs in a low voice, and Rhett immediately reaches over for the lube. He manages to squeeze a bit of it into his free hand and smears it with his thumb, which he then slowly brings in between Link’s cheeks and gently presses it to the opening there.   
  
Link hums appreciatively, and Rhett goes on, gently rubbing the area with his thumb, occasionally pressing it inside before replacing it with his index finger.   
  
He goes slowly, squeezing Link’s hand and pressing soft kisses down the slope of his shoulders as he pushes the finger in up to the first knuckle. The lube makes the entrance easier, almost slippery, but he can feel Link tense up and knows it can’t be too comfortable.  
  
Rhett works the finger out and then in again slowly until it’s entirely inside Link, and when he’s pushed it past a certain spot, Link’s heavy breathing is for a moment replaced by a soft moan.  
  
“You okay?” Rhett asks, leaning down to kiss the side of his head.  
  
“Yeah,” Link breathes, “Keep going. Please.”  
  
Rhett kisses him again and moves his finger in and out, repeating it until he can not only feel Link relax, but until Link is a bit worked up, when he begins to try and add another finger. 

It’s not until Link’s moans get louder and the movement of his hips more assertive that Rhett considers asking if he thinks he may be ready, but deduces he must be when Links whimpers and pushes his hips up, mumbling feverishly, “Oh my Goodness…”

Rhett kisses the back of his neck and releases his hand, moving his other hand away from Link as well. Link protests only by being silent, the moans not as quick to come in the absence of Rhett.   
He’s not too devastated about the loss of Rhett’s fingers, however, because he can hear them working on opening the condom Rhett had set aside earlier. 

Rhett opens it with ease, even if the fingers of his right hand are still a bit wet, and then rolls it onto his cock as quickly as he’s able to. The feeling of his own hand on his cock as he coats himself in lube is a small relief, but relieving nonetheless, the knowledge that he is about to fuck Link almost overwhelming, especially after watching Link writhe underneath him for so long.  
  
Link gasps when Rhett uses his hands to spread his cheeks apart a bit, and his breathing gets audibly quicker when Rhett uses his hand to guide his cock to Link’s ass, pressing the head of it against Link’s hole.

Link is perfectly still as Rhett pushes it inside, his eyes squeezed shut and his lips parted a little. When Rhett moves, however, it’s a bit uncomfortable, and Link has to stop him.  
  
“Ah, hold on,” Link says quickly, and Rhett immediately stops, panic flooding his thoughts.   
  
“You alright?” he asks, and Link nods, smiling a little. “Fine. Just go slow… I’ve never, you know…”

Rhett nods and leans down to nuzzle his neck, pushing back in a little as he does.

Something even more uncomfortable than the feeling of something big up his ass is bugging Link, and he has to quietly ask: “You, uh - You ever..?”  
Rhett shakes his head, leaning down to kiss Link’s cheek. “No,” he reassures him, and smiles at the sight of Link’s red, bashful face.  
  
Link gives him a short nod. “Please, can you…” he gulps before shyly going on, “Move?”

Rhett is more than happy to. He starts off slowly, trembling, barely moving his hips at first until he eases Link’s discomfort completely, till the only thing to be heard from both of them are moans, an occasional whimper from Link.   
  
Rhett moves his right hand to do what he did with his left just minutes ago; runs it down Link’s arm to take Link’s hand from the back. Link squeezes his fingers appreciatively, anchoring himself a little better as he moves back against Rhett. 

“Rhett…” Link moans, squeezing his eyes shut,  _“Fuck…”_  
  
Link swearing makes goosebumps rise along Rhett’s skin, and he presses closer to him, thrusting just a tad harder.  
  
“Yeah,” Link mumbles, voice muffled because his face is pressed into the mattress, “Like that…”

Rhett moans low in his ear, and Link has the urge to kiss him, but thinks it would be uncomfortable because of their position. He turns his head to the side anyway and Rhett finds his lips easily, kissing him as he fucks him harder. 

“Link…” Rhett breathes against his lips, his movements becoming more erratic.  
  
“Fuck me,” Link replies with a whimper. “Harder,” he instructs. 

Rhett obliges, pressing his forehead into the crook of Link’s neck as he thrusts up faster. He brings his left hand down to where Link’s waist meets his hips and pulls Link up, harder onto his cock as they move together. 

“I’m close,” Rhett warns him quietly, not stopping his movements.

“C’mon, baby,” the endearment is past his lips before Link can even think of it, but Rhett either doesn’t think much of it or he likes it, because he only presses closer to Link. Not long after, Rhett’s tensing up above him, moaning loudly as he comes, still inside Link. 

Rhett tries to get his breathing under control as he settles atop Link for a bit, kissing any spot on the plane of his back that he can reach.  
He feels Link move a little, and then he realises what Link’s doing - thrusting against the sheets, spreading his legs a little - he must still be achingly hard. Rhett quickly moves off him and helps him roll over onto his back, not bothering to even take the condom off as he leans down to kiss a trail down Link’s stomach.  
  
Link reaches down to run his hand through Rhett’s hair, looking down at Rhett. Rhett doesn’t hesitate a moment before taking the tip of Link’s cock between his lips; he licks up the underside of it then, and wraps his hand around the base as he takes the tip into his mouth again, and then does his best to sync his movements up as he brings Link off.  
  
Link shivers under his touch, moaning loudly, his face and neck feeling incredibly hot. He almost can’t chance a look at Rhett because seeing the man do his best to bring him off, moaning a little himself, almost brings him over the edge. 

It’s not long before Link feels the need to warn him, “Rhett, I’m gonna-”  
  
Rhett continues just as enthusiastically, looking up at Link as if to dare him to come. Link does, not seconds after meeting Rhett’s gaze, tensing up, his eyes involuntarily closing. He opens his eyes just in time to see Rhett finish  _cleaning him up,_ licking a stripe up his cock once more for good measure. 

Link sighs and leans back against the pillow, running a hand through his own hair as his breathing settles down a bit. He looks at Rhett kneel on the bed as he takes the condom off and ties it up, then hesitates a bit before simply dropping it to the floor.   
  
“Remind me to pick that up later,” he says with a grin as he settles down on the bed, his hand around Link. Link finds himself appreciating how big and warm and perfect Rhett is as he cuddles up to him.

“I will,” Link says though a laugh.   
  
They’re both quiet for a bit, simply looking at each other and smiling. Link allows himself the occasional soppy sigh.

“Did you really mean it when you said that you wanna spend every Valentine’s with me?” Link asks quietly, looking down at his hand, which he protectively keeps on Rhett’s bare chest.  
  
“Yeah,” Rhett says quietly, “Of course.”  
  
Link smiles to himself before leaning up to kiss him.  
  
Rhett closes his eyes, revelling in the feeling of Link’s lips on his until Link breaks the kiss and settles back down, lying with his head on Rhett’s chest.   
Rhett smiles down at him even if Link can’t see it, and speaks softly: “You know Saint Valentine married couples in secret.”  
  
“Yeah,” Link mumbles in reply.   
  
“Maybe, in honour of him, we should keep it a secret,” Rhett says, voice strained - rightfully worried because if Link disagrees and expresses the want to be publicly engaged with him, Rhett will want to leave everything for him, and it will be anything but easy.  
  
But all Link does is nod his head. “Agreed. You know what happened to Valentine when he got found out…”

Rhett grimaces, but Link looks up at him again and laughs at the face he’s making. “C’mon, man. All I’m saying is that there might be less talk about our romantic exploits in the future. I don’t need anyone but you to know, anyway. It might be the easy way out-” Link sounds almost guilty, and Rhett is quick to interrupt him:  
  
“It’s the smart way out. Not out. In. A smart way into our future.”  
  
Link nods. “Even if I wasn’t smart in the past, even if I’ve always loved you and still… I’m still glad to have my family.”   
  
Rhett nods, and breaks the newly imposed rule of not mentioning his wife in front of Link for the first and last time in his life. “Even if I’ve been living for this night, I can’t just forget the life I’ve built leading up to it. Jessie’s been through a lot with me, you know?”  
  
Link is silent, but Rhett can tell that he understands, and isn’t feeling forlorn about Rhett stating a such an obvious, if bittersweet fact.  
  


Neither of them want to trouble themselves with matters like these in this moment. They try to focus on enjoying their still newfound closeness. In one evening it’s as if all of their feelings slowly bled through the confines they both tried to keep them in, and finally flared up as soon as they got the chance. It’s moving too fast, which is just as fast as they like it. Rhett thinks he may as well say what he’s thinking, “Maybe we could go to Vegas next year.”

Link immediately catches on, because of course he does. He smiles stupidly and shakes his head, feigning disapproval. “Because Vegas chapels are as good as St. Valentine…” he says, laughing.  
  
Rhett’s cheeks redden almost immediately. “No, I mean… I… Doesn’t have to be Vegas. But it’s easy and I mean… I really want to have you every Valentine’s Day-”  
  
“Oh,” Link giggles, leaning up to kiss Rhett’s flushed cheek, “You could  _have me_  twice this Valentine’s Day…”  
  
Rhett grumbles something unintelligible and lets himself be kissed, and Link presses small kisses all over his face, still giggling.   
  
“Don’t propose to me so early, man,” Link says with a smile, ceasing in his kisses to look into Rhett’s eyes. He brings his hand up to tilt Rhett’s face up a bit, and when Rhett looks up to meet his gaze, Link strokes his cheek softly as he speaks. “You might scare me off…” Link whispers, and then he’s laughing, and Rhett smirks and has to lift himself up a little so he can wrap his arms around Link to try and switch their positions. He flips Link around and has him lying down on his back as Rhett hovers over him, leaning down to kiss his neck as they both laugh. It’s easy because they both know the joke, they’re practically married. They might as well be celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading ! any comments might make me love you forever
> 
> p.s. come talk to me @ [my tumblr](http://www.rhincoln.tumblr.com)


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